RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon

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Summary: Interesting, informative, believable
Review: Having read this book, I can finally say that I am historically informed as to the time in question. I myself was born long after the events told here. A major portion of the book's interest is based upon hearing an exhaustive detailed report on the day to day functions of the Presidency. The fact that Nixon actually wrote his book, unlike Kennedy, whose Pulitzer Prize winner was ghost-written, makes it all the more enjoyable. Nixon's side of the story is finally told in a skillful manner that cannot be interrupted by the harrangue of some foolishly inept liberal intent on forcing their own opinion of a complicated era. Finally, Nixon's mistakes do not qualify him as the greatest criminal of the twentieth century, as one reviewer so eloquently wrote. If Nixon did in fact have knowledge of the Watergate break-in, (and it is hard to believe he did not) then he is still no worse than Truman, LBJ, or even the greatly beloved John F. Kennedy. It is a singular characteristic of liberal thinking to declare that a "third rate burglary," is worthy above mass murder etc, for the title of worst crime and the person by whom the burglary was ostensibly commited the worst criminal. Nixon's greatest asset to the common man was that he did not shrink from the political arena that was from the beginning tilted against him. The elitist minority of this country remains, sadly, under the delusion that the disappearance of Nixon from the national scene put to death the existence of the great silent majority. America still more closely resembles the rough edges and imperfection of Nixon that it does to the unrealistic and contrived memory of Kennedy as a lust and corruption tainted savior.

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Summary: Still impressed with the book
Review: I first read this memoir 20 years ago. I was in my early twenties but even then it caught my interest and held it throughout the whole book. I have recently looked through it again. It's a lengthy tome, but well-written, with good characterization, and details that enlivens events for the reader. It was the first of its genre to turn me onto other presidential memoirs but none I read afterwards ever matched the depth of his.
The book not only describes his personal and family life but key players and world events at the time, a good study in political history now. There was plenty going on during his presidential years, a war abroad and civil unrest at home. He did not end the war as soon as he should have - the memoirs could not dodge this, as well they should not. That fact alone, and the loss of life entailed by it, mattered more to me than Watergate ever did.
But I liked and respected Nixon, even during the Watergate years. And in his memoirs, he was candid about his actions of those days and accepting of the consequences.
Whatever else history may say about him, Richard Nixon had been a major political figure for many years of his life, served his country and cared deeply about it.

Rating:
Summary: Richard Nixon: On Richard Nixon
Review: In this autobiographical account of his career, former President Richard M. Nixon narrates his career from its earliest beginning in Yorba Linda, Ca. thru his election and ultimate resignation as President in 1974. In a literary format reminiscent of Franklin D. Roosevelt's' "Fireside Chats," the author narrates the behind the scenes actions in some of this nations' most critical decisions.
Key sections include his coming to national prominence during the trial of Alger Hiss, and the elections of 1952, 1960, 1968 and 1972. The most critical period is his six year stint as President between '68 and '74 when he and National Security Advisor, later Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, successfully exploited the Sino-Soviet rift making an end to the war in Vietnam possible, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War ending with Americas' brokering a peace treaty between the seemingly intractable foes, and the success of détente over the objections of liberal and conservative critics. Despite these monumental successes in foreign policy a malignant cancer was steadily growing on the Nixon presidency; it was called, "Watergate."
The author chronicles the events surrounding Watergate in painstaking detail. Throughout he contends that he never authorized the break-in at Democratic Headquarters and had no knowledge of it in advance. He states flatly his principal accuser, John Dean, was lying when he stated otherwise. He also says he was effectively tried by a hostile press based on leaks of "secret" material from "informed sources" whose objectivity and integrity was highly suspect. Is his story true? This is the only format in which his story is told completely, devoid of the hype that surrounded the first ever resignation of a U.S. President. You owe it to yourself to read his account before you make up your mind.
This book is a first-person account from a key player in some of the most momentous events in the history of this nation. As is true of any autobiography, it is somewhat suspect. No author can be completely free of bias. However the tragic and untimely end of his career cannot and does not negate his undeniable successes. I strongly recommend this book to any serious student of history, political science, and/or international relations. I am much better informed for having read it. You will be as well.

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Literary Treasure
Review: Like it or not, Tricky Dick writes a good book. In these memoirs, he goes into the vast majority of his life, beginning, naturally, with childhood, and finishing up with-----well, just try to figure it out. Through it all he writes with intelligence and humanity, which helped his image when his image definitely needed help. But the book also helps to understand better President Nixon. This is an excellent read.

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Summary: Will Somebody Please Drive A Stake Through This Man's Heart!
Review: Memoirs, indeed! This book is nothing more than the greatest criminal of the 20th Century seeking to justify the unforgiveable.

Rating:
Summary: Still impressed with the book
Review: My girlfriend asked me what the heck I was doing reading Nixon's memoirs. I said, "because it's always good to know what the bad guy's are up to." I'm certainly no Nixon fan. I wasn't before I read this book and I'm not now that I've read it. But, like any presidential memoir (LBJ's The Vantage Point is another example), they have to be read not as an impartial historical text but as a political document in which the ex-president attempts to establish his own legacy before his critics have the chance. Nixon's is no different. It's well-written, fairly candid, and, for anyone interested in the amazingly tumultuous times he lived in, very interesting to read his take on his life. Just always remember, though, that this is how HE wanted us to see his life.

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Summary: Nixon's Take On History
Review: My girlfriend asked me what the heck I was doing reading Nixon's memoirs. I said, "because it's always good to know what the bad guy's are up to." I'm certainly no Nixon fan. I wasn't before I read this book and I'm not now that I've read it. But, like any presidential memoir (LBJ's The Vantage Point is another example), they have to be read not as an impartial historical text but as a political document in which the ex-president attempts to establish his own legacy before his critics have the chance. Nixon's is no different. It's well-written, fairly candid, and, for anyone interested in the amazingly tumultuous times he lived in, very interesting to read his take on his life. Just always remember, though, that this is how HE wanted us to see his life.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Worth Reading
Review: Nixon's book is excellent reading and a must for all those who appreciate history. He's a good writer, and easy to pick up for the average reader. Scholars will also enjoy it. There's a good chunk of the American Century covered in this tome: he becomes a Congressman in the late 1940s, and you get to learn about HUAC and the Alger Hiss case which made him famous. Then he is quickly a Senator until he's tapped by Ike to be Vice-President. Next his failed presidential bid and governor bid of the '60s. Then the comeback that no one thought was possible. Nixon is really insightful in this book. He spends the most time on his presidency and it's really interesting. It ends after his presidency in the '70s, so you have over 25 years of political history plus his personal life before that. It's a very long book (1000+ pages) but well worth it.

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Summary: Richard Nixon-Excuses and Accusers
Review: Richard Nixon choose to write this book only four years after he resigned. His dry methodical style reveals unintententially the inhibited emotional person he was.In terms of an historical record he makes a strong case that hiss was a communist spy. He reveals the Eisenhower role in neutralizing McCarthy. He discusses his friendship with the kennedy family but his obsession with them comes through with mentioning Ted kennedy and Chappaquidick . He admits to using the CIA to prent the FBI investigation and the hush money to Hunt that left this reader with wondering why Nixon didn't think he was guilty of impeachable offenses.He dismisses his opponents Vorhiss,Douglas and McGovern as running dirty campaigns but doesn't apologize for some of his campaign tactics.It is an important refernce but the reader wished he could have provided a rationale for the Watergate bugging.He doesn't deal with aftermath of the Vietnam War at all. He is proud of the prisoners of war he released and strangely never visited the memorial in washington.It is an important reference for any student on the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal and one gets am insight on the paranoid thinking of the man-the reader eventually thinks everyone is out to get him! The writing style could have been improved but the book would not be Nixon talking.One should not let this book the only book one reads on Nixon,Watergate or the Vietnam war.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating read.
Review: Richard Nixon was the closest America has ever come to electing a Fascist to the presidency. His neurotic, spiteful contempt for his country and his office were truly mindboggling to behold. He would sink to virtually any depth to destroy enemies and, more importantly, further himself. All these die-hard Republicans writing worshipful reviews of this book should bear in mind that no-less a Republican icon than Barry Goldwater disdained Nixon as "the most dishonest man I have ever met." Inevitably, Nixon was his own worst enemy, as his self-destructive, self-loathing personality triggered the greatest disaster in the history of the presidency: Watergate. That said, however, "RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon" is about as compelling an autobiography as you're going to come across. Nixon was a key player in many of the great conflicts of the century, and his accounts of his political life make for truly fascinating reading. The glimpses into the personal side of Nixon reveal a cerebral, compulsive man, ill-equipped to deal with the dark sides of his own psyche. These insights are what makes "RN" by far the most gripping presidential memoir yet written. Camille Paglia once wrote of this book that Nixon's fall and unprecedented disgrace unleashed a "Proustian flood of remembrance"--and "RN" is indeed Proustian, as Nixon recounts, almost obsessively, virtually every conceivable detail of his political life in well over a thousand pages. His desperate attempts to perform damage control on his legacy aside, "RN" is an extraordinary self-portrait by one of the most important players in 20th century American life.